OK. So I've just been getting into coffee the last couple of months. Here is what I have.

An electric kettle that warms to desired specific temps.

A bodum brazil 8 cup

And a mr. Coffee burr mill grinder (current model)

I buy my beans fresh at a local roaster (muggswigz). They said via a contest they are currently ranked in the top 14 in the country. But I digress. When I taste their brewed samples they are perfect. Mine are still good but not fantastic. I'm no expert in describing the flavors I taste yet, but the best I can say is a hard sour bitterness usually at or near the bottom of the cup. Here is my process.

I grind the beans between the course and fine setting but closer to coarse.

I grind up 45 grams and pour it into my Brazil.

I set the kettle to 200, and it usually heats to 203.

I pour just under a liter into the brazil and stir semi vigoursly for about 30 seconds.

I put plunger in and stop it just barely touching the water and wait 3 more minutes

I plunge down slowly applying slight pressure at the bottom.

I then pour the coffee into my thermos brand thermos, pour a cup and cap it off and drink the rest through out the day.

That bitterness is due to stale coffee but yes on stale coffee the salt does help a little.

On a FP, do not put pressure on the grounds in the bottom, just press until slightly above the grounds then pour very slowly so as to leave as much sediment in the bottom of the fp and not in your cup/thermos.

FP is not my method of choice when brewing coffee, I like a Vac pot or the Aeropress which works backwards from the FP.

You might try not stirring so much, you may be over extracting, which can spoil the whole pot. Perhaps it is not noticeable to you when hot but is when it cools, coffee changes it's flavor as it cools.

You are not happy at the end of the cup and you say you drink it all day long, perhaps the coffee is just past the point when it is good? Good coffee shops brew into air pots then toss the remainder of the pot at an hour due to the drop in quality coffee has when sitting.

Mods, could you please move this to Coffee General?

In real life, my name isWayne P.Anything I post is personal opinion and is only worth as much as anyone else's personal opinion. YMMV!

No mention of his grinder?A wee bit of a grinder upgrade would do wonders to help alleviate the bitterness.Much of that comes when a grinder produces too many "fines" which will then exacerbate the bitterness when you over stir.

Many here use the less expensive Baratza grinders, or Capresso Infinity for the press pot.The Baratza Encore is $129 new, but less as fully guaranteed refurb, and will do wonders for your coffee needs, from drip, vac pot (get a 5 cup Yama sometime) to press pot.click here

Well, the question is whether the salt is blocking bitterness or enhancing sweetness (which in turn balances out the bitterness). The study I linked to suggests it's the latter. Of course, it might do both.

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